The Towers
The Towers is a postwar settlement that is part of the New London Republic, named for the two predominant features of the region, the Tower of London and the remains of Tower Bridge. History Prior to the Great War of 2077, the area that became known as "The Towers" was an area along the River Thames known as the Pool of London, and was a popular tourist area, with notable landmarks including Tower of London, a medieval castle famously used to imprison such prisoners as Ann Boleyn and Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century, as well as the late 19th century Tower Bridge, bridge over the Thames famed for the Gothic spires of its two support towers. Other nearby landmarks include the preserved WWII-era cruiser HMS Belfast, St. Katharine's Docks, and the Tower Hill Underground Station. During the Great War of 2077, London was hit by multiple nuclear warheads, however, most of these strikes were concentrated around the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. At a distance of about 3 kilometers from Westminster, the Tower Bridge and Tower of London suffered damage, but were partially shielded from the blast wave by a district of skyscrapers that had gone up in the late 20th-early 21st centuries between the Tower and Westminster. As such, the Tower of London suffered minimal damage, though the upper portion of the top support structure and central span of Tower Bridge was destroyed, and the HMS Belfast unseated from its moorings and collided with the one of the heavy base supports of Tower Bridge, where it remained run aground, its hull partially buried by sediments. While most of the population of London perished in the nuclear attacks, about 2000 people survived in the Stronghold attached to Tower Hill Underground Station. After surviving decades of disease, violence, and nuclear winter, the Stronghold finally opened in 2154. Joining with survivors from other Strongholds and the handful who survived on the surface, the Tower Hill Stronghold residents founded the New London Republic in 2154. As the population slowly grew beyond what the Stronghold could support, people began settling in the remains of the old city, with one of the earliest structures settled being the relatively intact Tower of London. Other structures that would be colonized include the north tower of Tower Bridge and the grounded wreck of the HMS Belfast. All of theses structures were used a fortifications to secure the area against raider, feral ghouls, and other hostile wasteland inhabitants, and were later used as based for the London Republic Legionnaires. As for 2300, The Towers are home to about 8500 people. Postwar Inhabited Structures Tower Hill Stronghold The Tower Hill Underground station was one of a number of Strongholds, or government-built bunkers built to hold a few thousand people built in London. About 2500 people survived the Great War or 2077 in the Tower Hill bunker. As it was equipped with running water and electricity, unlike most structures in the outside world, the residents initially stayed in the bunker after they first ventured out on the surface in the early 2100s. As the population grew, however, additional living space was constructed on the surface, and pre-war plumbing and electrical systems were connected to the Stronghold's fusion reactor, eventually creating the power grid that covered all of the major inhabited structures by 2200. By 2200, about 2500 people still lived in the Stronghold, which considered the most desirably living space in the region. Tower of London The Tower of London is the largest inhabited structure in the postwar settlement of "The Towers" and has the largest population, with over 4000 people living in the former museums and post-war constructed housing in the area behind the medieval stone walls. The White Tower, the original 11th century Norman fortress remains largely intact and is a base for local government and military functions, including the site of an armory. In the postwar period, the outer medieval walls and towers serve much the same function they were built for: defense. The larger towers are topped with artillery guns and autocannons, while smaller machine guns and laser weapons are mounted along the battlement. Many of the medieval arrow loops in the walls have been repurposed for use with rifles and other small arms. The area within the outer walls of the Tower became a large marketplace, with numerous vendors stalls selling goods including food, purified water, weapons, ammunition, clothing, armor, medical supplies, chems, and other items. Tower Bridge While the central span of Tower Bridge was destroyed in the nuclear attacks, the north tower remains largely intact and is used, along with the north span, as a watch tower and gun platform. The east side of the tower platform is armed with with a refurbished 4-inch gun taken from the HMS Belfast, and multiple machine gun nests and sniper positions are mounted on the upper level. HMS Belfast During the Great War of 2077, the WWII-era cruiser turned museum ship HMS Belfast was cut loose from its moorings by the nuclear blast, but remained afloat, drifting down the Thames several hundred meters and running aground against the Tower Bridge. Over the decades, sediment gradually built up around the ship, holding it in place. Residents of the area claimed the heavily armored beached ship as a stronghold. The 6-inch guns of the ship's main battery were long-since inoperable, but a few of of the secondary 4-inch guns, kept operational for firing salutes before the war, were refurbished. Two of the refurbished guns remain in their mounts, while one was moved to the east support platform of Tower Bridge. Several 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were also refurbished and used as stationary defenses. The ship, now typically referred by residents as "The 'Fast" after the first three letters of its nameplate fell off. The 'Fast is home to about 350 people, mostly members of the New London Legion charged with manning the defense. Category:Post-War Settlements